A Player Who Eats Metal

Chapter 41: Steel Battalion

< Chapter 41: Steel Battalion – 2 >

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In the underground command center of the 1st Battalion, key personnel were gathered.

Both officers and some soldiers, including squad leaders like Lee Hyunwook, were present.

And now, Lieutenant Park Tae-soo, the Support Manager who had returned with Kim Kang-seok, was briefing them.

“Please look here.”

A photo was displayed on the screen.

It was a satellite image of Seoul.

However, something odd caught the eye.

A giant white circle was drawn in the center of Seoul, visible from the sky.

At first glance, it seemed like a cloud, but the shape was too perfect to be a natural formation.

“As you can see, a 10km radius centered around Seoul Station has been ‘closed’ by the system.”

This fact had been unknown due to ongoing battles.

“Indeed, it’s in a dome shape but unlike during the ‘Unlucky Event’, even entry and exit are impossible. It is completely isolated. Such a large-scale barrier magic could only be Anton Makachev’s ‘Sphere Field’ aside from Waves… and since the sky has turned purple, yes, it is definitely a Wave.”

Naturally, the conclusion was made.

“…The 4th Wave that humanity had feared has occurred, right here in Seoul.”

Wave

The worst disaster that this game could bring… Monsters surge in like a tide, overturning humanity’s domain as if it were a small boat, a long and enduring hell.

So far, there have been three Waves, and each time tens of thousands of players and millions of civilians have died. And humanity has never won.

The stolen lands then undergo ‘erosion’ and transform into completely different dimensions.

1st Wave, California: Became a volcanic region dominated by Red Drake.

2nd Wave, Shanghai: Transformed into a rough grassland with a steppe climate, and the kingdom of orcs was established.

3rd Wave, Berlin: Became a green hell, covered with carnivorous plants.

And the 4th Wave… happened here, in Seoul.

What would this place transform into next?

“…For these reasons, there is a command vacuum since many officers haven’t returned.”

“Hmm…”

Unless they were staying in the BOQ on base or nearby military apartments, there was no opportunity for them to return.

Kim Kang-seok, who had been in Incheon Harbor to pursue Okita Kaito, chose to return as soon as he heard that a gate had opened at the base. He narrowly made it before the area was closed.

“Firstly… is there any adjacent unit within the closed area that we can contact?”

Kim Kang-seok asked, and Park Tae-soo shook his head while flipping through documents.

“Currently, we can only contact the brigade headquarters.”

Within the 10km radius of Seoul Station, where the 4th Wave occurred, there were several other units.

However, it was confirmed that ‘gates’ had opened in all of those units.

“And it seems that the brigade headquarters has also not completely suppressed the situation.”

Four gates had opened near the brigade headquarters.

Of course, there weren’t five slaughterers villains, but since there was no one who knew the future and could respond like Lee Hyunwook, the response was considerably delayed.

“…What about the Cheonghwa Guild? Have you contacted them?”

“We’re communicating via Mana Messenger every 30 minutes, and they’re also still responding.”

“Then, first of all, let’s put out the urgent fire.”

Kim Kang-seok sighed and stood up from his seat.

“Firstly, we will target the two gates that are closed on base. After that…”

He showed five fingers on his right hand.

“…We have five days. As with the previous Waves, the closing period for Seoul will be five days, and after five days, this place will no longer be the Seoul we know but… it will transform into part of another dimension.”

The 5-day area closure that starts with the Wave,

Humanity called it the ‘Rapid Erosion Period.’

In just 5 days, the entire environment, including the climate and terrain, changes.

In other words, the golden time is only 5 days.

“We must stop it, somehow.”

Otherwise, we will lose Seoul.

“…By the way, Sergeant Lee Hyunwook?”

At Kim Kang-seok’s call, everyone looked at Lee Hyunwook.

“You look pale, you’re not injured, are you?”

Kim Kang-seok asked with concern.

It was because Lee Hyunwook was sweating cold sweat.

“No, I just have a slight headache, perhaps from pushing myself during the last battle.”

“It seems like you overexerted your abilities during the battle. Go see the medical officer. You can’t afford to be sick now.”

“…Yes, understood.”

It wasn’t slight at all.

His head hurt like it was going to split open.

And that was…

[ A ‘Signal Core’ is forming in the central nervous system. (62%) ]

-Severe pain may occur!

It was the terrible pain that accompanied the digestion of the ‘Demon’s Medal.’

“Alright, we’ll begin the assault in 20 minutes. All forces, be prepared by then.”

After the briefing, Lee Hyunwook returned to the living quarters.

“You’ve arriv… Ah! Sergeant Lee Hyunwook!”

And he collapsed.

* * *

Lee Hyunwook had his eyes closed. He seemed to have lost consciousness.

In front of his closed eyes, a blurry scene played.

“…So, Team Leader, you’re saying the 5th Wave will occur in Singapore?”

The voice belonged to Seo Eunha.

But this wasn’t the current Seo Eunha.

It was the future… no, it would be correct to say it was the past.

She was asking a question to Lee Hyunwook right now, and besides her, many others were looking at Lee Hyunwook. Lee Hyunwook nodded his head and pressed the remote control to switch the screen.

“Yes, there’s only one commonality in the four areas where Waves have occurred so far: One month before the Wave, the frequency of high-ranked Gates in nearby areas decreased significantly. Almost as if…”

“…As if gathering energy for one big explosion. For a Gate to open, there needs to be a significant accumulation of mana in the area. Smaller Gates opened a lot instead, likely as a smoke screen.”

“So, can this information be a hint on how to counter the Waves?”

The team members, including Seo Eunha, shook their heads.

“I’m not sure. Knowing the location in advance doesn’t make stopping a Wave practically feasible. It’s a foregone conclusion that the area will be devastated just by the Wave starting.”

“I agree. However, we should leverage the information about where and when a Wave will occur to think about how to use the Wave to our advantage.”

Use the Wave? The team members looked puzzled at the statement.

“As we all know, Waves are essentially guided by villains.”

“Right.”

“Their goals are the destruction and conquest of cities, as well as the items gained from the Waves.”

That was true.

Villains had become significantly stronger after every Wave.

That’s because Waves spat out legendary-grade items.

“So we need to find a way to intercept all of it.”

“Ah…”

But that idea was vague.

It was impossible to know when or where such items would appear.

On the other hand, villains already knew the coordinates.

The fight was lost from the start.

“In the 4th Wave, countless heroes including Lee Seong-yoon, Han Taesan, Choi Jung-chul, Kim Kang-seok, and Stipe Marin were killed by the mythic-grade item ‘Mistilteinn.'”

“If someone else had acquired that item first…”

“…history would’ve been different.”

Lee Hyunwook nodded and everyone wore a bitter expression.

Shortly after, the briefing ended.

As the team members left the conference room, Lee Hyunwook grabbed Seo Eunha’s arm.

“Seo Eunha, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“…Hmm?”

Lee Hyunwook looked around and then whispered in Seo Eunha’s ear.

“Be careful tomorrow. Intelligence indicates that Yoo Haena has raised an insect with ‘Ether’ claws capable of breaking your ‘Protective Qi.’ She’ll likely use it at a critical moment.”

Seo Eunha chuckled.

“Hmm… if you want me to be careful, shouldn’t you be careful first? You know who I get torn up and bruised for.”

“That’s… true.”

“So keep your wits about you if you don’t want to get me killed. After all, I consider myself your first life.”

Even though she said such terrifying things, Seo Eunha laughed brightly.

She had always referred to herself as his ‘first life.’

She considered herself the ‘shield’ to protect South Korea’s greatest firepower.

“…Alright. Let’s get through this Wave without losing any lives.”

However, he couldn’t keep those lives safe.

Grrrrrr—-

The sound of something sturdy bending was heard.

Crack—

Even the sound of it finally breaking was heard.

“Ah!”

Someone’s scream…

At that moment, Lee Hyunwook opened his eyes.

Then the sound of bending disappeared.

“Ah, Sergeant Lee Hyunwook?”

Park Junmo’s voice was heard, and the first thing that caught Lee Hyunwook’s eyes was a system message.

[ Congratulations! A new ‘Skill’ is granted for meeting special conditions ]

He sat up.

He was in the living quarters.

“Uh… are you coming to your senses?”

The frame of the bed where Lee Hyunwook had been lying and his crutch were twisted like twisted steel.

It seemed as if he had unconsciously exercised his ‘Metal Control’ while dreaming.

‘Could my Metal Control alone do this much right now?’

He couldn’t understand what had happened, but it was clear that his abilities had surged dramatically in a short period.

He immediately checked the system message that appeared in front of him.

[ Congratulations! A new ‘Skill’ is granted for meeting special conditions ]

He had absorbed the Demon’s Medal (Inferno) and formed a new bodily organ.

But this time, a new central nervous system had been built, which was honestly faint-worthy.

‘Right, it wasn’t a pain that could be endured with mere willpower.’

And now it was time to check what had emerged from that pain as nourishment.

[Skill Information]

-Name: Signal Core

-Rank: D

-Effects:

-Transcendent Sensing: Metal Control increases. (+30%)

-Centurion Force: Increases the maximum speed of control. (+10)

-Skill rank will improve when hidden conditions are met.

‘What is this?’

Lee Hyunwook couldn’t help but be quite surprised.

‘My control is… boosted by 30 percent?’

He felt like he understood why the Necromancer had been so strong.

With just this item, the maximum control is enhanced by 30%.

In other words, it meant he could speed up growth by a whopping 30%.

‘And this number shouldn’t be taken at face value.’

Growth was a sort of snowballing. Simply put, if you grow faster than your competitors, you’re naturally one step ahead in seizing good opportunities.

Therefore, the amount of metal that Lee Hyunwook could now control was…

[ Currently controllable ‘Metal’ weight: 65,658g ]

-Transcendent Sensing(+30%) is in effect.

…it had shot up to 65kg in an instant.

‘If it goes up a little more, I could even lift my own body.’

Of course, being able to lift his body weight didn’t mean he could fly at high speed.

He could lift a weight with one hand based on 300g, after all.

‘What’s next…’

And then, the second skill, ‘Centurion Force.’

If translated, it could mean the power of a leader of a hundred, perhaps.

This ability was related to control speed or the number of units he could manage simultaneously.

‘One of the reasons the Necromancer could generate such large armies must have been this.’

Even for a Necromancer, there were times when he thought the number of units was just too much.

Although there were other factors, this power must have substantially increased his unit control capacity.

‘Unfortunately, I don’t have any traits related to unit control.’

However, there was a way, and he had already realized it.

It was through using ‘Living Armor.’

Until just recently, he could only control three units, but now that number had increased to ten.

‘Hmm, a steel army, huh…’

In fact, I tried using it in my past life, but it wasn’t much fun and eventually was overshadowed by the Necromancer.

That’s because it maxed out at 33 units.

However, with this skill, a slightly different scenario might be possible.

As the skill level increases, the number of units that can be controlled should also increase. Given that the skill is called ‘Centurion Force,’ it might go up to a maximum of 100 units.

‘If I use this well, maybe…’

It was even possible that he could turn the tables on the Demon Army Leader, the Necromancer, by pushing him back with an army of his own.

It’s still far in the future, but he faintly imagined it. An army of steel-clad in sacred armor,

Yes, with that setup…

Lee Hyunwook turned his head to look at Park Junmo.

“Park Junmo, how long did I sleep?”

“Uh, about 3 hours… Are you okay?”

“Is the battalion commander in the command control room?”

“Yes, most likely…”

Lee Hyunwook kicked off his seat and headed to the command control room.

“Salute!”

The officers gathered in the situation room turned their heads as Lee Hyunwook entered.

“Right, are you… really okay?”

Kim Kang-seok asked with a worried expression.

He too had heard the news that Lee Hyunwook had collapsed.

“Yes, it seems I was a little tired from staying awake since the early morning shift yesterday. I apologize.”

“I didn’t think you had such a weak constitution…”

Lee Hyunwook offered a wry smile.

“It seems like you came here to say something, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

Lee Hyunwook moved closer to the battalion commander.

“Sir, you assigned me as the temporary platoon leader when this situation first unfolded.”

“Yes, that order is still valid.”

“Then, I have a request related to that.”

Kim Kang-seok crossed his arms and nodded.

“Uh… it’s getting scary when you start asking for favors. You had access to the armory and practically moved it to a mountain, didn’t you? What big plan do you have this time?”

Though he said that, his face showed traces of anticipation.

“It will be on a similar level this time.”

“Ha- sounds interesting.”

At that response, Kim Kang-seok showed a faint smile.

“Once the in-base gate is closed, we have to carry out operations outside the base, right?”

“We have no other choice…”

To stop the wave, they couldn’t just stay within the unit.

After maintenance, they had to go outside and find and destroy the ‘erosion factor.’

Of course, the vicinity would be guarded by monsters whose strength was beyond imagination,

and beyond that, traps set by the villain organization would be waiting for them.

“For this operation, I plan to ‘organize’ a new platoon.”

“Organize? You mean to create an entirely new unit, not just taking over the 2nd platoon?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

It was absolutely not something a soldier could suggest.

However, at this moment, Lee Hyunwook was no ordinary soldier.

He had effectively saved the entire battalion.

“Alright, explain.”

“I need half the weapons from the battalion’s armory and a truck to transport them.”

“You’ll also need soldiers to drive those trucks and a security detail, won’t you?”

“Yes, and I’ll also need at least 15 mages to open wide-area portals.”

“Hmm… I suppose you’ll need tanks for protection too…”

“Furthermore, I need 12 units of the Living Armor that we obtained from the last operation.”

Kim Kang-seok’s expression slowly hardened.

“A truck, even more, a lot more… Wait a minute, that’s not the size of a platoon, that’s a battalion-level scale, isn’t it?”

Lee Hyunwook nodded.

“If you trust me, I’ll lead those forces down to Seoul. And I will…”

“Deliver results that exceed the investment you’ve made in me.”

At those words, which sounded like they were delivered in a business proposal, Kim Kang-seok chuckled.

However, his smile ended there.

He sunk into deep contemplation.

During the few hours that Lee Hyunwook was absent, the battalion commanders had a meeting on how to defend Seoul. However, not even a plausible method was suggested.

It was inevitable.

From the beginning, the Wave was not something to confront but a catastrophe to avoid.

But now, Lee Hyunwook has provided a ‘strategy.’

He had added the first line to the blank slate of their operational plan.

Ordinarily, in a regular army, entrusting a plan to a soldier’s opinion would be unthinkable.

But now was different. It was virtually wartime, and Lee Hyunwook was a talent better than any officer.

“Control officer, what are your thoughts?”

Kim Kang-seok asked.

Moon Tae-ho, the area magic control officer, was essentially the second-in-command since the chief of operations couldn’t return.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he nodded.

“Sir, I’ve already seen it once. That’s why I think I have some idea of what Sergeant Lee Hyunwook is talking about. He plans to use wide-area portals and a massive amount of weaponry… to bring down a rain of steel.”

At the phrase ‘rain of steel,’ Kim Kang-seok naturally nodded.

Moon Tae-ho turned his head to look up at Lee Hyunwook.

“And if I may be so bold, I think Sergeant Lee Hyunwook saved our unit. Maybe… he could even save Seoul? Of course, the details of the operation will have to be discussed.”

Kim Kang-seok looked at Lee Hyunwook.

“Ha, Lee Hyunwook, I never thought I’d say this, but…”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“You are currently the greatest asset to our battalion.”

Of course, if we consider individual power, there were people more potent than Lee Hyunwook.

Kim Kang-seok himself was an example, and there was Seo Eunha.

However, when it came to dealing with the Wave’s mass offensive, Lee Hyunwook was the most efficient.

He could dump the entire battalion armory over the enemies’ heads through portal magic—such an unimaginable combination attack was possible.

Kim Kang-seok stood up.

And placed his hand on Lee Hyunwook’s shoulder.

“Alright, go ahead, create it. A Battalion of Steel.”